Ah, but you had to love the way they made their exits. A stripped-down set, the twins running down a hall and turning to wave. Then the rest of the cast, one at a time, all giving a little smile and a wave as they left. No stringing it out, no possibility of a TV movie, just...goodbye. A class act all the way.

Ever hear of someone named Jim Ealy? He was sued by CBS for posting leaked information about two Survivor seasons, Samoa and Heroes/Villains. Ealy knew the order in which the players were voted off and other things that were meant to be secret. But CBS dropped the suit when Ealy named his source. It was Russell Hantz. Still playing the game, although by the time those two games aired, he already knew he'd lost both of them. Ealy said he decided to cooperate with CBS when Russell tried to blame the leak on an innocent player. CBS is considering action against Russell, who (like all the players) signed a contract agreeing to pay a $5 million fine if he gave anything away.

So do I, but that $5 mil is probably a fine for revealing the winner, which Russell would be careful not to do. It all depends on the wording of the contract. Odd that this should come out right before Russell is scheduled to make his third try...well, he's already made it, we'll just be seeing what's already happened. It's almost as if CBS suspected Russell and wanted to expose him before Redemption Island got started.

But why? What's the advantage to CBS? I suppose the controversy would generate some publicity, but why would they want to show Russell playing the new game with an axe hanging over his head? That would build audience sympathy for him.

Well, the worst-case scenario I can think of is that Russell actually wins this time, and CBS is laying a legal groundwork for not paying him the million dollars, or maybe only part of it. It could be something entirely different going on, though...that's just a guess.